Control what you're billed on. Tokens are the currency of AI, and how you design your app determines how many you spend. Compress conversation history instead of resending it raw, cap output tokens with matching prompt instructions, and cache static context so each reuse costs a fraction of the first request. Route each prompt to the right model by complexity, or set Model Router in Microsoft Foundry to handle that automatically — balanced, quality, or cost mode. Then optimize the whole stack. Run Agent Optimizer to test your prompt, model, and tool configurations together and surface better setups. Use Toolbox to dynamically select only the tools each request needs and cut input token overhead by 90%. April Gittens, Microsoft Principal Cloud Advocate, joins Jeremy Chapman, Microsoft 365 Director, to share how to seize control of AI token spend through smarter app design. ► Unfamiliar with Microsoft Mechanics? As Microsoft's official video series for IT, you can watch and share valuable content and demos of current and upcoming tech from the people who build it at Microsoft. • Subscribe to our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MicrosoftMechanicsSeries • Talk with other IT Pros, join us on the Microsoft Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-mechanics-blog/bg-p/MicrosoftMechanicsBlog • Watch or listen from anywhere, subscribe to our podcast: https://microsoftmechanics.libsyn.com/podcast ► Keep getting this insider knowledge, join us on social: • Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSFTMechanics • Share knowledge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft-mechanics/ • Enjoy us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msftmechanics/ • Loosen up with us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@msftmechanics #TokenEconomics #MicrosoftFoundry #AICosts #GenerativeAI

Bigger AI models bring smaller gains and higher costs. The next breakthrough will come from efficiency, smarter algorithms, and better use of compute.

Companies are abandoning excessive token usage in favor of sophisticated AI routing to optimize costs and find the most affordable model for each task.

NVIDIA has unveiled Nemotron 3 Ultra NVFP4, leveraging the new 4-bit floating-point quantization format from Blackwell architecture to compress model weights without sacrificing capability.

Enterprises chased AI efficiency. Now they’re facing the fallout. Continue reading...

최근 기업들 사이에서 AI 사용을 장려하던 분위기가 싹 바뀌었습니다. 직원들이 사소한 업무에 인공지능을 쓰느라 예산을 급격히 소진하는 일이 속출하고 있기 때문입니다. 실제 글로벌 컨설팅 기업에서는 단순 문서 변환 작업에 토큰을 쓰지 말라는 내부 지시까지 내려왔다고 하네요. 도대체 왜

As AI costs rise, major consulting firms and companies like Amazon are rethinking and recalibrating their extensive AI spending and leadership initiatives.

Context engineering matters for two reasons: reliability and cost. If your agent's context window is...